Beyond Linux® From Scratch (systemd edition)
- Version 2016-12-09

Chapter 1. Welcome to BLFS

Asking for Help and the FAQ

If you encounter a problem while using this book, and your problem is
not listed in the FAQ (http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/faq),
you will find that most of the people on Internet Relay Chat (IRC)
and on the mailing lists are willing to help you. An overview of the
LFS mailing lists can be found in Mailing lists. To assist
us in diagnosing and solving your problem, include as much relevant
information as possible in your request for help.

Things to Check Prior to Asking

Before asking for help, you should review the following items:

Is the hardware support compiled into the kernel or available
as a module to the kernel? If it is a module, is it
configured properly in modprobe.conf and has it been loaded? You
should use lsmod as the root user to see if it's loaded. Check
the sys.log file or run
modprobe <driver>
to review any error message. If it loads properly, you may
need to add the modprobe command to your
boot scripts.

Are your permissions properly set, especially for devices?
LFS uses groups to make these settings easier, but it also
adds the step of adding users to groups to allow access. A
simple usermod -G audio
<user>
may be all that's necessary for that user to have access to
the sound system. Any question that starts out with
“It works as root, but not as
...” requires a thorough review of permissions
prior to asking.

BLFS liberally uses /opt/<package>. The
main objection to this centers around the need to expand your
environment variables for each package placed there (e.g.,
PATH=$PATH:/opt/kde/bin). In most cases, the package
instructions will walk you through the changes, but some will
not. The section called “Going
Beyond BLFS” is available to help you check.

Things to Mention

Apart from a brief explanation of the problem you're having, the
essential things to include in your request are:

the version of the book you are using (being 2016-12-09),

the package or section giving you problems,

the exact error message or symptom you are receiving,

whether you have deviated from the book or LFS at all,

if you are installing a BLFS package on a non-LFS system.

(Note that saying that you've deviated from the book doesn't mean
that we won't help you. It'll just help us to see other possible
causes of your problem.)

Expect guidance instead of specific instructions. If you are
instructed to read something, please do so. It generally implies
that the answer was way too obvious and that the question would not
have been asked if a little research was done prior to asking. The
volunteers in the mailing list prefer not to be used as an
alternative to doing reasonable research on your end. In addition,
the quality of your experience with BLFS is also greatly enhanced
by this research, and the quality of volunteers is enhanced because
they don't feel that their time has been abused, so they are far
more likely to participate.

An excellent article on asking for help on the Internet in general
has been written by Eric S. Raymond. It is available online at
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html.
Read and follow the hints in that document and you are much more
likely to get a response to start with and also to get the help you
actually need.